A Masonic Trial.

clear that Brothers Hockney , Voigt , and Harrison recorded the three negative balls . "' 6 . Because such conduct is unmanly , dishonourable , and un-AIasonic , and deserves the greatest censure this lodge can bestow . ' " By order of the Worshipful Alaster , "COOK LAKIXG , Secretary .

"Masonic Hall , Hornsea , J an . 20 , 1 S 77 . " This circular was now said to be in such exaggerated and violent language as to exceed any privilege which members of Masonic lodges could have to communicate freely their views upon Alasonic matters , or call in question the conduct of their fellow Alasons . At the conclusion of the plaintiff's

case , Mr . CAVE submitted that there was no evidence of express malice against Air . Laking , who was only the Secretary , and had done nothing but what it was his duty to do in sending out the circular containing the charges to the members of the lodge . The learned J UDGE ruled that ' there was no case made

out against Air . Laking , and that as regarded him the case failed except upon the defence of justification upon which the judgment was given for Air . Voigt , the learned Judge ruling that thc defence that the charges were true was not made out , but that the case must proceed against Air . Trevor . The judgment was accordingly , as against Mr . Laking , entered for Air . Voigt upon the justification , and

against him upon thc defence that the circular was a privileged communication whicli the Secretary was entitled to send out . lt may be mentioned that Air . Voigt was afterwards excluded from the lodge b y the members of it upon the hearing of the charges contained in the circular , which exclusion was confirmed by the Masonic authorities , who appear to have censured or cautioned both Air . Voigt and

the lodge generally . Air . LOCKWOOD ( for Air . Trevor ) contended that the circular was an honest expression of his opinion upon the conduct of Air . Voigt , and was consequently a privileged communication , and one which he was entitled to make , if made honestly ; that Air . Trevor was actuated by no malice against Air . Voigt , and was merely doing that which it was

right to do in formulating the charges clearly and causing them to be sent to Air . Voigt and the other Alasons in the usual course , thus giving Air . Voigt full notice of the charge in order to enable him to meet it if he had any defence to make . Mr . TREVOR was himself called as a witness . He said that he had informed the Worshipful Alaster , Air . Carr ,

that he considered Air . Voigt ' s conduct unworthy and unmanly in blackballing the gentlemen proposed , and that he thought his conduct ought to bc inquired into , and that , in obedience to the Alaster ' s directions , he formulated his charges and drew up the circular now complained of . Mr . Trevor admitted that he felt that thc rejection of his friends was a Slight upon the lodge in general , who wished

them to be admitted , and that this feeling operated upon him in drawing up the circular . Air . DODD , for the plantiff , contended that the language of thc circular itself afforded evidence of spite and malice , being exaggerated and going beyond what the occasion required , and that Air . Trevor in a moment of anger had been guilty of unworthy and un-Masonic conduct in charging Mr .

Voigt with conduct of a dishonourable and unmanl y nature , and in persisting in the charge and justifying it as he now did . The learned J UDGE directed the jury that Mr . Voigt was entitled to judgment upon the defence of justification ; that , however , was a mere question of costs , as he would be entitled to no damages unless he also succeeded upon

the other issues . It was not proved that the conduct was dishonourable or unmanly . But as to the question of privilege , a much more serious problem , and one of moment to society generally , was raised , lt was whether a member of a club was at liberty to express his opinions upon the conduct of a fellow-member without being exposed to thc risk of action . That he was so justified where he acted hand

fide and honestly , and not from motives of spite or anger , or from any motive that could be termed malicious , was clear . If it were not so , it would bc impossible for clubs to exist or to inquire into the conduct of their members . Air . Voigt's character was not thc main question in the cause ; it was clear that that would not suffer from their verdict , the issue of justification being found in his favour ; and

unless they could accede , which he thought there was great difficulty in doing , to the view presented to them on behalf of the plantiff that Air . 'Irevor was actuated by malice , which the learned Judge defined as any indirect or improper motive , the verdict must be for the defendant upon the question of privilege . Air . 'Trevor ' s contention was that , in his honest opinion , Air . Voigt had been guilty

of conduct which rendered it right to exclude him from the lodge , and this was the view which thc members of the lodge seemed to have taken , which view was confirmed by the Masonic authorities ; and if this was so it was obvious that he had a right and a duty to formulate his charges ; and though , said the learned Judge , he was not prepared to withdraw from them the question of whether the

language of the circular was such as to exceed the fair bounds of honest complaint , they must be satisfied by the evidence that it did so before they could say it afforded evidence of malice . Suchcommunications must be weighed with no great nicety , lest freedom of communication between man and man , or member and member , should be intefered with ; and they must remember that the Alasons

were a bod y professing principles of brotherhood and morality higher than that of ordinary clubs , and so consider whether the blackballing of gentlemen against whom no one suggested a word was not such an action as to render the circular one fairly within the bounds of privilege , recollecting that Air . Voigt had given no intimation whatever of his intention to black-ball , though he admitted that

it was usual , though not absolutely incumbent upon a Mason , to give some intimation of his intention to blackball before doing so , in order to enable the proposer or seconder to withdraw his candidate from the ballot and prevent his experiencing the annoyance of a rejection . The jury , after about three-quarters of an hour ' s absence , at a late hour returned a verdict in favour of Mr . Voigt ,

with one farthing damages ( no money damage having been proved ) . A discussion ensued as to whether Air . Voigt , in addition to the cost of the tissue of justification , was entitled to the general costs ofthe cause as against Air . 'Trevor , at the conclusion of which , The learned J UDOE said he should take time to consider his judgment as to costs .

Centenary Of St. John Lodge, No. 2, Halifax, N.S.

CENTENARY OF ST . JOHN LODGE , No . 2 , HALIFAX , N . S .

( Continued from page 3 63 , ) In connection with these interesting reminiscences , we have great pleasure in stating that Bro . John AlacGrcgor , barrister of this city , himself a Royal Arch Alason , and old member of the Virgin Lodge , has kindly presented St .

John Lodge with a very fine portrait of Sir John Aloore " ( which you now see before you ) , and which will be kept in the lodge room as a valued memento of our distinguished brother . The early records of St . John contain the names of many other prominent men , who were identified with the early history of Halifax , and who having , in their various

stations of life , faithfully performed their duty to God and their country , have gone down to honoured graves , and who , though long since dead , have left behind their " footprints on the sands of time . " Space will only allow a few of these to be enumerated ; some of whom have their descendants still living amongst us . Such men as Bros . Richard J . Uniacke ( the elder and

founder of the family)—then Attorney General , 17 S 5 ; Rear-Admiral Provost Wallis ( 17 S 5 ); John Halliburton , ALD . ( father of the late Chief Justice Sir Brenton ) , 17 SG ; John Creighton , Joseph Prescott , Alathew Richardson (¦ 79 o ); Thomas Akins , Hon . Enos Collins , Crofton Uniacke , Thomas L . De Wolfe ( 1810 ); of divines there were . Rev . J . Wingate Weeks , 17 S 1 ( who preached the

first Alasonic sermon in old St . Paul ' s Church on St . John the Baptiste Day , 1782 ); Rev . Thomas Shreve ( 17 S 4 ); Rev . B . G . Gray , D . D . ( 1 S 13 ); Rev . Isaac Temple , R . N . ( 1 S 20 ); Rev . JonnT . Twining , D . D . ( Garrison Chaplain ); Rev . Ambrose Owen , ALA . ( 1 S 39 ); and others of late date . Of lawyers and doctors there were plenty : Bros . Dr . Unwin , R . N . ( 1781 ); Dr . Geddes ( 17 . 84 ); John Lawson ,

barrister ( 17 S 5 ); Edward Irish , barrister ( 1780 ) : Win . O . Sawers ( Judge Inferior Court 1 S 14 ); Charles Twining , barrister ( 1 S 20 ); and a host of others . St . John was the lodge whicli was favoured by the military and navy in those days , and there arc many names of both branches of thc service on the books . Amongst others , in 1 S 41 , Capt . Parker , futh Regt ., a native of Lawrencctown , N . S ., who

gloriously fell at the attack of the Redan , having for his companion in death , as he hail been in arms , our gallant Welsford , who , though not under the banner of St . John , was still a member of the Craft . In 1 S 45 we find the name of Lieut . F . A . Thesiger , Ride Brigade , who , as Lord

Chelmsford , the commander of our forces in South Africa , won for himself a name in history , and had the honour of bringing the Zulu war to a successful conclusion . Of the navy we have on the books , besides Admiral Provost Wallis , Vice-Admiral Sir Houston Stewart , K . C . B ., Sir John Dalrymple Hay , and many others equally worthy of note .

1 he pages of the old minute books contain much of interest to the lovers of antiquity , and although the language used is somewhat quaint , and sounds oddly to modern ears , yet it is evident that our brethren of these days were well up in Alasonic lore , and strictly enforced the rules and regulations of the Craft . 'There are several instances recorded where brethren had been suspended for months for

un-AIasonic conduct , the most of whom , however , were glad to come back again into the Alasonic fold . This is the ancient way of entering the fact that a brother had been passed to the Degree of Fellow Craft— " Bro . , being desirious of having his wages raised , was examined found worthy , and Crafted in due form . " Perhaps amongst our ancestors , this was the origin of the " strikes "

for wages , which among modern working Alasons are now so frequent an-1 so disastrous . As has already been remarked , the utmost good feeling prevailed between thc civilian members of the lodge and our military and naval brethren . Of this , the minutes furnish many instances , of which the following letter , written to the lodge Dec . 14 th , 1 S 19 , by Lieut . Hamilton , H . M . S .

"Active , " will prove interesting , addressed to the Alaster of St . John Lodge : " Will you have the kindness to convey to the members of the lodge to which 1 have the honour to belong my sincerest regardsfor their welfare . * * * ' * I conclude with the words of my gallant captain—that , although glad to go home , 1 feel sorry at leaving so many

kind friends who , for years , have paid me that attention which not even time can blot from my memory . Alay God bless you a \ l , and prosper all your zealous endeavours in protecting so glorious a cause as Alasonry , is the earnest prayer of your sincere friend and brother , ' "J . HAMILTON - . "

Thc meeting at which this letter was read seems to have been unusually well attended , the sum of £ 40 9 s . ijjd . having been received for dues . VVe may here mention that the dues for members were three shillings each night and five shillings for each Quarterly Communication . In those days there seemed to be the same objection to third term officials as has been lately shown in the

Presidential nominations against General Grant , for we find , from the minutes of that meeting , that Bro . Wood , who had occupied the Senior Warden's chair for the past two years , expressed a wish for a third term , but it was decided that no brother could be a Warden for more than two years . 'There is abundant material in the minutes of the old lodge to write a book , and the difficulty is to condense

within the limits of an ordinary paper . 1 lie transactions of succeeding years must , therefore , bc generalised . In 1 S 20 a rather notable event occurred in the history ol St . John . In that year the lodge was suspended by the Provincial Grand Lodge , in consequence of a difficulty about thc election of a Grand Alaster . 'The rival candidates were John Albro and the Hon . Richard lohn Uniacke .

Bro . Albro was elected , and the St . John Lodge protested on various grounds as to the illegality of the election , and refused to take part in the installation of officers . 'The Grand Lodge , which sustained Bro . Albro , suspended the lodge , which appealed to the Grand Lodgeof England . St . John Lodge continued to hold its regular meetings , but did no work until the matter was finally amicably arranged , and the lodge resumed harmonious relations with the Grand

Lodge . An amusing feature connected with this transaction was the election of Sir James Kempt ( who had just been appointed Lieut .-Governor of Nova Scotia ) to be Grand Alaster . 'This was proposed by Bro . AlcSwiniiey , W . AI . of St . John Lodge , by way of solving the difficulty , lie was solemnly and duly elected , and a Committee of the Grand Lodge was appointed to wait on him on his arrival in Nova Scotia . His Excellency received them very graciously , and

Centenary Of St. John Lodge, No. 2, Halifax, N.S.

thanked them for the honour conferred on him , which , however , he was obliged to decline , for the simple reason that he had never been initiated into the mysteries of Masonry . In the year iSG p an event of great importance to Alasonry occurred in Nova Scotia , and that was the union of all the lodges holding under English and Scottish jurisdictions under the one Grand Lod <* e of Nova Scotia—a consummation which has resulted in great

benefits to Alasonry generall y throughout the province . The most important event which has occurred of later years was the amalgamation of Scotia Lodge , No . 22 , with St . John . This forms one of the most interesting periods in the history of St . John Lodge . Since the union in 1 S 6 9 many prominent and enthusiastic Alasons have felt that the objects of Alasonry would be carried out better , and the welfare of the Craft more surely promoted , were the

number of lodges in Halifax reduced by amalgamation . To Scotia Lodge , No . 22 , belongs the honour of inaugurating the movement and the credit of disinterestedness in being willing to merge its identity in that of another lodge for the benefit of the Craft . In the beginning of 1 S 73 Bro . Lorenzo A . Barnaby , then a member of the Scotia , introduced to the brethren of his own lodge thc subject of amalgamation , which resulted in

a resolution at the regular Communication , in April of that year , to the effect that it was desirable that the Scotia Lodge , 22 , do amalgamate with the St . John Lodge , 2 , being carried unanimously . A copy of this resolution was forwarded to the officers and brethren of St . John Lodge , who were favourably impressed with the scheme , and appointed a Committee to co-operate with a similar Committee of Scotia Lodge , in order to carry out thc necessary

arrangements . On Alay 23 rd , 1 S 73 , by request , a list of officers and brethren of Scotia Lodge , forty in number , was forwarded to the St . John Lodge . Matters having progressed satisfactorily so far , and both lodges being equally anxious for the amalgamation to take place , the next step necessary was to obtain the sanction of the AI . W . G . AL , Hon . Alex . Keith . A petition in

accordance with the desires of the two lodges was prepared and presented by R . VV . Bro . H . C . D . Twining , to whose kind offices and great interest manifested in the undertaking its success is mainly attributed ; and it is worthy of note that the last Alasonic act of Bro . Keith was that of appending his signature to the document approving the proposed amalgamation . On the 2 nd day of Alarch , 1 S 74 , the members of Scotia

Lodge were , by jietition , regularly proposed in open lodge for affiliation , their petition received and referred to the Investigating Committee . On the following Gth day ofApril being the regular Communication of St . John Lodge , they were separately balloted for , and unanimously elected , thus consummating the union so eagerly desired . The funds , jewels , documents , Sec , of Scotia Lodge became invested in St . John ' s , and , by special permission ,

their charter was allowed to be retained among the archives of St . John Lodge , in commemoration of ihe successful union of the two lodges . Since then the St . John Lodge has continued to prosper , and now holds a foremost place in the rank's of Alasonry . In conclusion , the Committee express the hope that this paper will be acceptable to the brethren of St . John Lodge as a brief history of the proceedings of the lodge for the

last one hundred years , and that it may be deemed worthy a place in the archives of the lodge , so " that in future years , long after the hand that traces these lines has mouldered in the dust , and the voice that reads them has been stilled in death , they may be read , perhaps , at the anniversary of the second century of the lodge with ns much interest as we have just recorded the events of the first century of its existence . For that there will be a St . John Lodge one

hundred years hence holding its anniversary we have no more doubt than that we are here to-night . We , Alasons , believe that as Alasonry existed from time whereof the memory of man runneth not to the contrary , so it will continue to exist throughout successive ages , until time shall be no longer—immutable , unchangeable as the everlasting hills—the same to-day , yesterday , and for ever . FITZ . COCIIKA . V .

L . A . MAR . N'AIiy . C F . Vosic . Committee of St . John Lodge . Halifax , N . S ., June 30 th , 1 SS 0 . NOTE . —After thc foregoing paper had been prepared some additional A 1 SS . came into possession of the Committee , which afford further information as to the early meetings of St . John Lodge .

From these it appears that the first ten meetings of this lodge under the dispensation of the nth Alay , 17 S 0 , were held at Bro . O' Bryan ' s house . The first meeting of the lodge under the warrant was held at the Golden Ball on the Gth of November , A . D . 1780 , at which place the lodge continued to hold its meetings for seven years .

Ihe original warrant of the lodge is dated 13 th of June , 17 S 0 , under the signature of the Most Noble Prince John , third Duke of Athol , Grand Alaster Alason of England . The old lodge was called No . 1 , "Ancient York Masons , " from the fact that its authority was derived from thc old constitution granted by His Royal Highness Prince Edwin , at York , . D . 926 .

An addition has recently been made to thc interesting collection of the Guildhall Library by a present from Air . 11 . G . Hine of " casts from inscriptions and devices cut by the prisoners in the Beauchamp Tower , 'Tower of London . "

Constitutions of the Ancient Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons , containing the Charges , Regulations , E . A . Song , & c . A copy should be in the possession of every brother . It may be obtained for 2 s . at the office of the Freemason , or will be sent post-free to any part of the United Kingdom on receipt of twenty-live penny stamps . Address , Publisher , 19 S , Fleet-street . —[ Anvr . J llul . i . ow . iv ' s l ' n . t . ! .. —Dianlio-a ami llowel Complaints . —These

maladies are ever present , anil if left iiiiatteiiileil frequently terminate fatally . It should he everywhere known that cholera and iliarrhu-a originate in lhe presence of some undigested suhstance in the stomach or bowels , or some del-tenons mailer in Ihe blood , ami Holloway's Pills can expel eilher will ) ease anil expedition . They concentrate in a surprising degree , purifv ing , alterative , regulating .

ami strengthening qualities , and ihus exert over every internal origan the wholesomely controlling inllueiu-e so ucec-sary for subduing excessive action in Ihe human frame . I Inllnwav ' s medicine may be advantageously taken as a ineansof keeping Ihe blood pure ami the body cool—the onlv practical plan of maiiitainin j health in youth , manhood , and old age . —[ Anvr . ]